If you look at the numbers, it's really not. I know a lot of people don't give a hoot about Wyoming, but if you consider: 1 - Its one of the least populated st

If you look at the numbers, it's really not. I know a lot of people don't give a hoot about Wyoming, but if you consider: 1 - Its one of the least populated states, with a mere 580,000 people living there, but ranked in the top 5 in GDP per capita 2 - Mining fueled more than $11 billion in GDP in 2011, with the manufacturing, real-estate, and transportation industries also contributing strongly to its economy. 3 - Coal mining has been a boon for the state: According to the Energy Information Administration, Wyoming boasted nine of the 10 top-producing coal mines in the U.S. last year, with two mines alone making up 20% of total American coal production 4 - Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU), the biggest public coal-producer in the world, operates Wyoming's largest coal mine, the North Antelope Rochelle mine. That mine produced more than 105 million short tons of coal in 2010 alone for Peabody. The company also operates the 10-largest coal mine in America: its Rawhide mine, also in Wyoming, with 2010 production of more than 11 million short tons of coal. 5 - Crude oil: Wyoming produced 53,400,000 barrels (8,490,000 m3) of crude oil in 2007. The state ranked fifth nationwide in oil production in 2007.[65] Petroleum is most often used as a motor fuel, but it is also utilized in the manufacture of plastics, paints, and synthetic rubber. 6 - Trona: Wyoming possesses the world's largest known reserve of trona,[67] a mineral used for manufacturing glass, paper, soaps, baking soda, water softeners, and pharmaceuticals. In 2008, Wyoming produced 46 million short tons (41.7 million metric tons) of trona, 25% of the world's production.[67] 7 - Wind power: Because of Wyoming's geography and high-altitude, the potential for wind power in Wyoming is one of the highest of any state in the US. The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project is the largest commercial wind generation facility under development in North America.[68] Carbon County is home to the largest proposed wind farm in the US. However, construction plans have been halted because of proposed new taxes on wind power energy production.[69] 8 - Uranium: Although uranium mining in Wyoming is much less active than it was in previous decades, recent increases in the price of uranium have generated new interest in uranium prospecting and mining. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming